


I Found

by Casandravus



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff & Angst, M/M, Revalink Valentine's Day Exchange, no betas we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:48:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29423337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Casandravus/pseuds/Casandravus
Summary: Something rippled through the air - heartbreak, perhaps - and for a second, each one’s eyes were the other’s mirror.
Relationships: Link/Revali (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	I Found

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for the Revalink Valentine's Day Exchange event on Tumblr. 
> 
> Prompt from my recipient: After freeing Vah Medoh and Revali shows up, Link gives him a last hug, Revali is trying to keep his "I don't care, go away, you still have work to do" attitude but tbh?? It actually pains him that this is the last time they will see each other and beneath those proud feathers he was actually craving that hug.

The Blight vanished; magic was tangible in the air.

  
For a moment in time, Link was drowning in a sea of green. Green moss, green flames, green eyes. Revali had him pinned with nothing more than a glance. “Well, I’ll be plucked…”   
  
His memories of the Rito were so fresh, so heart-wrenching, that all he could do was stare. He _wanted_ to speak, but his nerves were shot and he was tired. It didn’t take long for - betrayal, was it? Disappointment? - to ripple across Revali’s face. It was gone just as quickly as it came; it was like he’d donned a mask.

“I _do_ suppose you've proven your value as a warrior - a warrior worthy of my unique ability. A sacred skill that I have dubbed Revali's Gale. It's now time to move on and start making preparations for Medoh's strike on Ganon. But only if you think you'll still need my help while you're fighting inside Hyrule Castle. Free feel to thank me now.”   
  
That wanting shot through Link, paralyzing him. What was wrong? Why couldn’t he _open his mouth_ ?   
  
Sadness - it was definitely sadness this time - flashed in Revali’s eyes for just a second. “Oh... never mind, just go. Your job is far from finished, you know.”

This facade was fooling no one, and they both knew it. Something rippled through the air - heartbreak, perhaps - and for a second, each one’s eyes were the other’s mirror. Link may not have understood _why_ he didn’t (couldn’t) talk then, but he knew how he _felt_ now - so he rushed forward, throwing his arms around Revali.   
  
For all the longing he’d held to be acknowledged by Link, Revali… Hadn’t expected it to happen like this. One hundred years late, atop his Divine Beast, with the little knight sobbing against him like the weight of shame was going to crush him.   
  
_This wasn’t how he wanted it to go._

Link buried his face in the crook of Revali’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I don’t - I don’t remember very much. I don’t understand. All I know is that I _failed_ and I didn’t _see you_ and now it’s too late. I’m sorry.”

The apathy Revali had clung so hard to for the last century slipped from him like a loose feather in the wind. He sighed, returning Link’s embrace and wishing he could truly feel it, rather than the deadened glass that permeated his being. Unsure if Link would know what it meant, he pressed his beak against the Hylian’s cheek and breathed deeply - as much as a dead man _could_ breathe, anyway.   
  
“Time’s up.”

Link stepped back, looked down, and cursed as the magic started pulling him away. His mouth worked as if he was going to talk again when Revali pulled back, turning to face away from him as he disappeared.

“The princess has been waiting an awful long time...”

* * *

  
Death felt less like a state of being and more like time passing by. It wasn’t the grandiose, glowing white that Revali had been promised in life, either. He _was_ somewhere - there was grass, there were trees, and if he squinted he could see the sun. Here also, though, was _loneliness_ in its purest form.   
  
Urbosa. Daruk. Mipha. He couldn’t sense their presence anywhere - it really, finally, was Revali alone. True though it was that his thoughts accompanied him, they were too loud to be much use.

A pity that the afterlife should be so barren after all they’d sacrificed for the Calamity’s defeat. 

After… Some time - he couldn’t be sure how long it was - there was a pull. A beckoning, almost, and a voice that sounded without words. Unable to do anything else, Revali stood and followed the call. The closer he got to it, the more the grass and sky and trees faded away, and -   
  
A sigh of relief. “You’re awake.”   
  
Blue had never brought him such wonder before. “What happened?”

“The Goddess Hylia resurrected all the Champions,” Elder Kaneli said, voice soft and wizened. “You were the last one remaining. Link and Teba here have a theory that your spirit took longer to return to your body because you fought that… Thing… The longest, and you arrived at your Divine Beast first.”  
  
“Where are - “   
  
“The other Champions and Zelda are waiting for news from the stable,” Link interrupted him. “Daruk’s a bit, uh, _big_ for Rito roosts, and the girls didn’t want him to feel excluded. Not that he cared, of course… I’ll ride down and let them know.”   
  
“Wait!” Revali reached a hand out. “Can we talk? Just you and I?”

Teba gave Link a _look_ before gently guiding Kaneli back to his roost.   
  
Link pulled his chair closer to Revali’s hammock. “What is it?”   
  
“About what happened when you freed Vah Medoh from Ganon… Did something happen? We weren’t exactly on the best terms the first time around…”   
  
“I forgot everything and had to recover my memories. But before I remembered everything, I got _really_ good at reading people. And talking,” his smile was watery. “I felt a lot of guilt, and shame, for how I treated you. How I treated everyone, really, but mostly you. I always thought you were amazing, though… I just thought it’d be easier to keep everyone at a distance.” 

While Link looked down with a blush on his cheeks, Revali looked at him. The way his hair blew in the easy Rito breeze, the way his Snowquill armor fit him just so, the way his hands fidget at the speed of a field mouse spotted by a lizard. Everything about him was… _New_. Revali suddenly understood why so many people fawned over the Hylian Champion. He was stunning in every way. That thought roused his feathers quite a bit and he coughed. 

“You alright?” Link asked, raising a brow. 

“F-fine, I’m fine, thanks. Can I see the others now?”  
  
“You’re Master Revali of the Rito - you can do anything you want,” Link grinned.

Revali squawked, feigning indignance, and quickly put on his armor. “Let’s go then.”  
  
They opted to walk down to the stable, taking a hidden path Link had made for himself over the span of his journey to defeat the Calamity. Just before getting to the stable, however, Link stopped. He looked at Revali - all colored by sunlight and shadow and pine trees - and sighed. “I think I love you,” he said. “I think I loved you all along.”   
  
Revali’s eyes widened as he faced the little knight. 

He’d never been brought such joy by all these shades of blue. 

“I think I loved you all along, too.”


End file.
